Oct. 8, 2014

By Rumasa Noor

A career fair is a perfect place for students to network with the employers and take the first step in the professional world.

But it takes a lot more than just making an appearance at the fair and talking to the recruiters.

One needs to have certain attributes to leave lasting impact on the employers, which can potentially pave a path to employment with the company of choice.

The district manager of Anderson Pest Control’s Wisconsin territory Chris Emery said when students are going to a career fair, they need to have a clear idea of what they are looking for, and which company would be a good fit for them.

Most employers agree that candidates should research the company beforehand, and present themselves professionally to recruiters.

“They have to look appropriate, they have to introduce themselves and speak appropriately, professionally and they really have to show they know what it takes to be successful in the business world,” Emery said.

Runzheimer International’s representative Nicole Kringer agreed with Emery and said if students present themselves appropriately and demonstrate their knowledge about the company, it communicates that the student is serious about the job.

“Do your research, present yourself well, be confident and then really talk about what you want to do because as much as you want to learn about us, we want to learn about you too,” Kringer said.

Talking to the employers can be an intimidating process. Roundy’s campus recruiter Barb Novak advised students to not get nervous when talking to an employer.

“If they are a little nervous, may be practice on an employer that they weren’t thinking that they would normally approach and then kind of get the butterflies out of the way, and then present yourself to the employer that they are very interested in,” Novak said.

Recruiters recommend students to open up about themselves.

“Be willing to talk to anyone, you never know what opportunities they’ll have and where you are going to end up so I would say any advice I would give is just be outgoing , have a good conversation and figure out it’s a good fit or not,” Advicent recruiter Christina Kurcz said.

Aside from possessing a professional demeanor, employers said it is also important to have strong communication, multitasking and analytical skills.

General and Branch manager of C.H. Robinson Keith Chyla said if a student is interested in a company, they should take an aggressive approach and reach out to the recruiter.

“Follow up or send an email to the person you spoke with, ask them to do in a job shadow and check out the facility, may be even get the tour of the facility to get a better idea of what the company is what they stand for, and what are they like as well,” Keith Chyla said.